Deliberations ended Thursday evening without verdict and will continue Friday morning.
It's been six years since R. Kelly was arrested. At this point, there is nothing more the prosecutors or the defense can do. It's all up to the jury. As far as the state is concerned, it's all about "People's Exhibit No. 1," the videotape.
R. Kelly's fate is now in the hands of nine men and three women. The child porn case against Robert Sylvester Kelly ended just as it began, with jurors watching the 27-minute videotape that is the heart of the case. As the jury viewed the tape, the prosecutor pointed out each sexual act that accounted for the 14 counts Kelly is charged with. The prosecutor reminded the jury that the background is Kelly's home, the man on the tape is his face, voice, and body, and the alleged victim is the singer's goddaughter, her face, voice, and body.
Throughout the trial, the defense has said the young female is not who prosecutors say she is, because the person was known to be sweet and innocent, but the prosecutor told jurors, "sometimes that sweet, innocent person is exactly what a child pornographer wants to capture in his work."
Prosecutors also hammered home the point that while Kelly and the alleged victim deny it's them on the tape, there were 14 witnesses who identified the female and 12 who identified Kelly, including the testimony of Van Allen, who told jurors she had three-way sexual encounters with Kelly and the alleged victim, two of which Van Allen said were videotaped by Kelly.
Van Allen also told jurors Kelly would carry with him a duffel bag full of his homemade porn. In his closing argument, defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. shot back, saying, "So you would believe Robert would walk around with a bag full of porno tapes like he was porno Santa Claus?"
Adam also tore apart the credibility of Van Allen, calling her a liar and extortionist. Adam told jurors, "This whole thing from the beginning to the end is about money."
In her rebuttal argument, prosecuting attorney Shauna Boliker said, if there was money involved, "you would have never seen Lisa Van Allen.". She called Adam's closing argument nothing but innuendo and speculation, not evidence.
Both sides mentioned a mole R. Kelly has on his back. Adam Jr. said to jurors, if you don't see the mole on the videotape, then you must acquit. The state had two highly credentialed video experts who say they saw the mole on the tape.
